“The day you sign on to my law firm is the day when I will sign the deed to this property over to you, along with the title to the car,” Mr. Price said.
With the cases he had lined up for Kim, she would have made enough money to buy this house three times over. The house and the car were only equivalent to $1.5 million, which he’d given to all of his lawyers that worked for him. Dressing it up this way always seemed to get him better results from newbies.
“What about Tim? I just can’t leave him out to dry like that.”
And that was truly how Kim felt. She almost felt obligated to stay with Tim’s law firm.
“Rebecca,” Mr. Price yelled out from the kitchen.
She walked in with a folder, placing it onto the marble countertop. Mr. Price opened it up, separating the deed, the title, and the one-year contract to work for William and Price. He pulled out an ink pen and put it on top of the paperwork. Kim couldn’t believe he was giving her little to no time to think about it. She had to make a decision right now, and there was no telling if this opportunity would ever come her way again. Those were her thoughts as she looked down at the form.
* * *
Ms. D walked from the kitchen to the living room and was nearly out of breath before she could make it to the couch. Her energy had been getting less and less over the past few weeks between chemo and all the other medicines she was taking. Sometimes, she didn’t know whether she was coming or going. The room started to spin, and as she reached out to grab the arm of the sofa, she collapsed, falling to the ground, but not before hitting her head on the wooden coffee table in front of the couch. The blow didn’t knock her out completely, but it definitely caused some severe damage. The room continued to spin, and her eyesight began to blur. Ms. D tried to gain enough strength to reach up and grab her phone that was sitting on the couch.
“Oh, God, help me,” she mumbled to herself. She looked for the inner strength within, but her limbs weren’t moving. It was as if she was paralyzed from the neck down because she couldn’t move anything.
Her vision continued to weaken as her eyelids became too heavy to keep open.
This must be it, she thought to herself. This must be the end of the rope for me.
Visions of certain events that occurred in her life when she was young and innocent began to flash through her thoughts. Life when she was a teen and when she became a young adult followed. She thought about the only child she gave birth to, her mother, father, her sister who passed away, and her brother who was still alive serving time in prison.
Now, Ms. D knew that this had to be the end for her. Her heart began to race uncontrollably, her breathing became weak, and her body was unable to go any further. She lay there on her back, looking up at the ceiling, and as her life slowly faded away, the last thoughts that went through her mind were the hopes that God would allow her into heaven.
* * *
The female eyewitness stood in the middle of Brian’s living room, explaining how the whole shooting unfolded with his best friend Chicken.
“He tried to run, but the guy chased after him,” the young female cried. “He shot Chicken right in the back of his head.” After visualizing it, the female couldn’t take it anymore and started to break down in tears, so much so that Brian had to wrap her up in his arms. He had to stop himself from crying, thinking about the way his boy died.
“I need you to listen to me,” Brian said, forcing the young female to look up into his eyes. “If the police ask you anything about this, I want you to tell them you don’t know anything. Can you do that for me?”
The girl nodded her head, but that wasn’t good enough for Brian.
“I need you to say it,” he told her, which, in return, she did.
He was well aware of the gunman who pulled the trigger and only hoped that he got to him before the police figured it out. After the young lady was escorted out of the house, Brian walked into the dining room and took a seat at the table. His boys Peet, Teath, and Dez joined him, also taking a seat at the table. This was the last of his crew, and he wanted to make sure that he didn’t lose anybody else.
“We gon’ move on these niggas tonight. I’ma blow Fabian’s head clean off his shoulders.”
“I think tomorrow night will be better,” Peet cut in. “That gives us a little more time to plan this shit out. I wanna make sure we get away. Eighth Street stay on point, and they keep shooters on the roof out there. Niggas stay strapped.”
“Trust me, Fabian be slippin’. He’s too dumb and too slow,” Dez tried to counter.
Brian sat back in his chair and thought about what Peet was saying. He was right. Eighth Street was known for gunplay and running up with guns blazing could end badly for Brian and his crew. He wanted revenge, but not at the cost of his life.
“A’ight, we do this shit tomorrow night. Meet me back here tomorrow afternoon. And, Dez, bring that choppa wit’ you,” Brian said, then got up and walked everybody to the door.
* * *
Chris looked high and low for Tammy, but couldn’t find her anywhere. He’d been to her house, her cousin’s house, Carol’s house, called her phone numerous times, and came up empty-handed every time. He was now becoming frustrated, because every call that was coming through his phone was coming from his mother. She hadn’t been off her feet since Tammy dropped them off, and for Chris, that was a major problem.
Chapter 24
Lamar sat on the edge of his bed looking down at the gun sitting in his lap. So many evil thoughts ran through his mind, all of which pointed to him killing Falisha, and Chris also if he happened to be there at the time. His phone began to vibrate on the nightstand, momentarily catching his attention. It was Anne, his attorney. “Yea, wassup?” he answered, holding the phone to his ear with one hand and grabbing the gun with the other. Lamar had taken all the professionalism out of their relationship. As far as he was concerned, Anne was just another part of a system that had taken his son away from him.
“I have some good news, Lamar, and I would rather tell you face-to-face. Are you home?”
“What kind of good news could you possibly have? I can tell you know I’m not stepping another foot into that courtroom,” he replied.
“Well, I’m standing out in front of your house. Are you here?”
Lamar walked over to his window and looked down on the street. Anne was standing up against her car.
“Oh, OK. Give me a minute. I’ll be right down,” he said, ending the call. He quickly tucked the gun away, put on a tank top, and headed down the stairs. It had to be some real good news since she had come all the way out here he thought to himself.
“Hey, Anne, come in.”
Lamar couldn’t help but to take note of the outfit she had on. Anne always looked so professional, and today was no different. He loved the way the simple gray suit and white shirt she was wearing hugged all of her natural curves. Her beautifully manicured toes peeked through the black Jimmy Choo open toe pumps. In her hand was a charcoal leather briefcase, and she wasted no time digging inside and pulling out some paperwork.
“The judge granted our motion for you to have partial custody of Jordan. He got real emotional the other day when you walked out of the courtroom and came to the conclusion that if any man would fight for his kid as hard as you did, he deserved to be in that child’s life,” Anne reported, passing Lamar the custody papers.
The smile on Lamar’s face was priceless. Not able to hold back his emotion, he said, “Anne, thank you so much,” then pulled her in for a hug. Her small curvy frame disappeared as he wrapped her up in his arms. A kiss to the top of her forehead surprisingly turned Anne on. As she slowly pulled away from his grasp, there was a brief moment as they stared into each other’s eyes . . . All of the attraction and desire that both had suppressed since he first walked into her office began to come to a head.
Anne reinitiated contact, grabbing his tank top and pulling his face down to hers. When their lips connected, the rest of her body
began to melt. She pulled away, trying to fight the dangerous urge to stop while she had the chance. Lamar wasn’t having it and grabbed her hand before she could walk away. He reached in and removed her blazer, all the while looking into her eyes. His tank top came off next, showing off his chiseled body, and once Anne saw that, she knew she wasn’t about to just walk away. She just stood there, letting Lamar unbutton her shirt, and then undo her belt.
Before she knew it, Anne was standing in the middle of Lamar’s living room with only her panties, bra, and heels on. He looked at her body, amazed at the curves and thickness. He almost preejaculated at the sight. He wasted no time lifting her up, wrapping her legs around his waist, and walking her up the stairs. They kissed passionately the whole way to the bedroom, and once there, Lamar laid her down gently. His sweatpants dropped to the floor, and Anne became even wetter from the size of his long, curvy dick. As he removed her panties, he hesitated, rubbing the head of his dick up and down her center before pushing it in. She gasped, then bit down on his shoulder as all nine inches of him filled her canal. She only became wetter with every slow stroke, and Lamar dug deeper so he could hear her moans.
“Oh my God, you gon’ make me come,” she whispered in his ear. Her pussy was so soft and wet Lamar almost came as well. “Harder, harder,” she whispered, feeling the orgasm coming on.
Lamar kept stroking harder and deeper, stuffing his tongue down her throat in the process. He could feel her walls tightening up around his dick, so he stroked harder and faster. Anne’s come splashed all over his dick, and as easy as it would have been for him to join her, he declined, wanting to make sure that he took his time with touching every part of her body this evening.
* * *
Kim woke up in a large California king-size bed, slightly hung over from the events that took place the previous night after she signed with William and Price. Karin, Rebecca, and several other lawyers at the firm all threw Kim a last-minute party that turned out to be bananas. Kim got out of the bed, grabbing her phone off the nightstand, and walking out onto her bedroom’s balcony. The view was amazing from where she stood, the kind of view she could easily get used to.
“Hey, baby,” she greeted when Brian answered his phone. “I see you tried to call me last night, but I was busy.”
“Yea, so when are you coming home? I miss you,” he said as he wiped off bullets to load his weapon. Kim got quiet. This had to be the first question he asked.
“Boo, I’m not gonna lie to you. I took the job out here. I start next week.”
Brian pushed the phone away from his face and stared at it. It was silent on both ends until Kim finally asked, “Are you still there?”
“Yea, I’m still here, but what do you expect me to say?”
“I expected that you would be telling me that you’ll be on the next flight to California.”
Brian wasn’t feeling Kim at all right now.
“And how long do you expect for us to be staying out in California?” he asked with a curious look on his face.
It got quiet again, and this time, Kim looked out onto the beautiful landscape. After one year of her working for William and Price, the house and the Range Rover were going to be hers. The salary was going to be three times as much if she stayed and worked for Tim, plus the medical benefits extended to a husband and four kids. The more she thought about it, the more it became apparent to her that her decision to take the job was the right one.
“This is going to be our home for good, Brian. Me, you, and our—”
Brian hung up the phone before she could speak another word. He was so hot about the fact that Kim could make such a decision without consulting him first. He had nothing else to hear or say to her at that moment, and just in case she tried to call him right back, Brian turned his phone off altogether. His focus needed to be on the task before him. If he wanted to get the job done right, Kim and her BS were going to have to wait until later.
* * *
Lisa reached over and grabbed her phone out of the center consol. She actually had been waiting for this phone call.
“Damn, stranger,” she answered seeing that it was Chris.
“I know, I know, don’t kill me. I know it’s been a minute since I checked up on you and Naomi,” he said.
“Yea, whatever, boy. So what’s going on wit’ you?”
“Nothing much. I was calling because I wanted to know if you had seen or heard from Tammy. She’s been MIA for a couple of days.”
Lisa looked over at Tammy who was sitting in the passenger seat of her car.
“Nope, li’l brother. I haven’t seen her, and the last time I talked to her was about a week ago,” she lied. “You want me to call her?”
“Nah, nah, that’s cool. I’ll find her. You just give Naomi a kiss and tell her that it came from her uncle Chris,” he uttered before ending the call.
Lisa smiled, looking over at Tammy. “Girl, how long do you plan on staying at my house?”
“I don’t know. Why? You tired of me already?” Tammy shot back.
“Hell no. I’m about to make you my in-house babysitter if you keep messing around,” Lisa joked.
Tammy really just needed some time to think. Darious offered her something that she never thought he would in a million years. The chance to move to China with him was mind-blowing, and though it was on the other side of the world, she was starting to consider it. The only thing that prevented her from making a decision right now was the kids. She didn’t want to take them away from their father, not knowing when or even if, she would return back to the United States.
* * *
Eighth Street was booming, just like any other night, and there had to be at least 100 people out there scattered into little groups. The drug dealers were on the corner, neighbors were huddled up on each other’s porches, kids were running up and down the street, and Fabian and his boys were sitting in the middle of the block doing what they did best: monitor all the money that was coming through.
“Yo, go buy the youngin’s some ice cream,” Fabian told one of his boys when he saw a Mr. Softy truck turning onto the street. All the kids swarmed the truck, knowing that Fabian would buy everybody a cone. It stopped right in the middle of the block. When the small window opened, an ice-cream cone wasn’t the first thing that came out of it. Instead, it was the nose of an AR-15 aimed right in Fabian’s direction. Without warning, shots started to fly. Pop pop pop pop pop pop pop pop pop pop!
Bullets flew over the top of the kids’ head, right in the direction of Fabian, who was in Dez’s crosshairs. Everybody scattered like roaches, including Fabian who didn’t get that far. The AR-15 bullets chased him down, hitting him in his back calf muscle and making him fall to the ground. The ice-cream truck immediately took on heavy fire from the dope boys on the corner and the shooters on the roof.
“Drive, drive!” Dez yelled to Peet, who jumped into the driver’s seat and peeled off. Bullets were coming from everywhere, knocking holes in the side of the truck. Dez jumped behind the ice-cream machine but a bullet made its way through the thin metal.
“Shit!” he yelled out, grabbing ahold of his side.
Peet took a bullet too to the shoulder, but he maneuvered the truck down the street like a pro. Everybody who had a gun ran down the street behind the truck, shooting at it repeatedly. Fabian tried to get to his feet, but the bullet took a nice chunk of meat out of his leg. All of his boys ran in the opposite direction of the ice-cream truck so he couldn’t yell out to anybody for help. Out of nowhere, a shadow appeared to the right of him, and when Fabian looked up, Brian was standing over the top of him with a chrome .357 pointed right at his face. Brian never said a word but instead, gave him a slight grin . . . before pulling the trigger. The hollow point bullet crashed through the center of his forehead, knocking Fabian back onto the concrete. Though he appeared to be dead, Brian leaned in, placed the barrow of the gun to the side of his head, and pulled the trigger again. Then he laid the gun on top of Fabian’s che
st and faded off into the night.
* * *
Being a part of William and Price had its benefits, and one of them was being able to use the private corporate jet. Mr. Price had actually insisted Kim go back to Philly to retrieve her valuables and rectify her affairs with her family and friends. Only thing was, she needed to be back in Cali by Monday so she could make her first court appearance.
When she landed in Philly, she grabbed a rental car and headed home. She got on her phone and attempted to call Brian, but there wasn’t any answer. The second attempt went straight to voice mail. Kim was becoming annoyed real fast, so much so she sped off on the next exit, turning around to head for North Philly.
She knew Brian was home ’cause when she pulled onto his block, his car was double parked on the sidewalk. Two of his young boys were standing on the porch, and it looked like they both had guns tucked away in their waistband. They knew who Kim was, so they didn’t even attempt to get in her way when she stormed up the steps. She almost passed out when she walked through the door and saw Brian lying on the couch with his clothes covered in blood. He opened his eyes to see her standing there with fear on her face.
“Baby, it’s not mine,” he yelled, jumping up from the couch. “It’s not mine—look,” he said, removing the shirt when he got closer to her. Kim wasn’t completely convinced, scanning over his body.
“What da fuck is going on?” she snapped.
Brian walked her further in the room so nobody could hear their conversation. “Dez and Peet got shot tonight. Dez is in the basement getting patched up, but Peet had to go to the hospital,” he explained. Kim looked to the sky and let out a frustrating sigh, figuring this was the reason why he didn’t answer the phone.
“I can’t take it, Brian,” she said, walking over and taking a seat on the couch. “I can’t do this anymore.”
Brian walked over and took a seat next to her.
“You know, I was going to wait to tell you, but I might as well let you know. Brian, I’m pregnant,” she said, looking over into his eyes. He had a shocked look on his face. “But if you plan on being out here in these streets, I’m not gonna keep it. I’m not gonna stress myself out and wonder when the morgue will call for me to come identify ya body.”
Single Ladies 2 Page 20
